


Bits and Pieces

by Falmouth



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Compliant, Childhood, Fluff, M/M, Non-Chronological, future canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2015-09-19
Packaged: 2018-04-21 13:58:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4831649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Falmouth/pseuds/Falmouth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"If Armin loved to close his eyes and let the smells describe his world, Eren used a far more concrete method: he saw the world through his hands, finger brushing against surfaces, outlines defined by rough palms."</p><p>Eren and Armin's lives through many little moments that they shared together</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bits and Pieces

**Author's Note:**

> originally based on [this](http://writersyoga.tumblr.com/post/107474795091/the-35ths-challenge) old prompt but then i got carried away a little. sorry.

**7.**

  
Summer thunderstorms were Armin's favourite. The unmistakable sky that predicted a cloudburst would stand silently above them all, in a fascinating mixture of colours. When the rain would come, it would be a pleasant lullaby that soothed the souls and relaxed the bones. Yet, he was more fond of the aftermath of the sky's water show: the road would foam, the air would be thick and sticky, slugs would speckle cabbage large leaves and people would go outside breathing the fresh air after long days of dull mugginess.

The blond was now on the porch of his house, holding firmly the chair he was sitting on, eyes closed and forehead wrinkled in concentration,  mouth still in a defined line.

“I'm ready”

He inhaled deeply and started playing his favourite game.

“I can smell...” he murmured “the warm mist lingering on the road, the sweetness of resin but also the freshness of the forest's trees. I can smell Miss Gerlak's cooking, the cinnamon biscuits you are so fond of, the sour unguent they put on horses when they are wet because of the rain, and oh... the freesias in our field near the Wall finally bloomed. Their sharp scent is so characteristic.”

“How can you smell all of those things?”

“It's called attention to particulars, Eren” said Armin, opening his eyes slowly and smiling at his best friend. “Actually it's not that hard. It just comes very naturally to me.”

Eren opened his mouth in awe, and Armin bit his lip in an embarrassed smile. “Your turn.”

“Of course it is!” the brunet shouted, and made a silly turn on his foot, shooting his right arm in the air. He took a big breath through his nose and closed his eyes firmly. “I'm ready, sir!” he shouted, closing his fists and doing what he had learned was the military salute. “I'm going now!” he declared playfully, stepping on the muddy road in front of the friend’s house.

He walked slowly, eyes still shut and arms stretched out in front of him. Armin jumped off the porch and followed him, catching up with him quickly.

Eren seemed very concentrated, and Armin could see him counting noiselessly under his breath.

If Armin loved to close his eyes and let the smells describe his world, Eren used a far more concrete method: he saw the world through his hands, finger brushing against surfaces, outlines defined by rough palms.

If  Armin loved to recognize the scent of homemade cooking or flowers, Eren loved to stroke the branches of the trees, loved to raise himself on his tiptoes, scraping the Wall as far as he could go.

  
  


**1.**

  
“And so my dad said he was blind.”

“What does that mean?”

“I didn't know, so I asked. It means that you can't see.”

Armin found the answer to be very interesting. Since he had met Eren, he had always been amazed by his father's job and found fascinating the art of medicine. Sometimes, Eren would join Grisha while he was visiting patients so he would then tell Armin what he had learned. Their friendship was a mutual exchange of information. They both loved to discover new things.

That day, they learned about the word blind.

“What do you think it feels like not to see for all of your life?” Eren questioned sitting on the low wall and swinging his legs over the river below him.  

“I'm not sure. I find it really hard to imagine. But I guess... you can't miss something that you never had. Somehow, you'll learn how to live happily only relying on the other senses... Taste, hearing, sense of smell...”

“Armin. Let's play a game.” Eren said, jumping off of the wall and sitting in front of his friend. “From now on, we'll close our eyes and who lasts longer wins.”

The blond smiled at him and nodded, putting away pen and notebook where a brand new word starting with 'b' now shone vividly.

Eren chuckled and closed his eyes.

“I am wriggling my fingers on the ground and I... Armin, do you have your eyes closed too, right?”

A laugh in response “Yes.”

“Okay. Just checking. So... the road is warmer that I thought and there is... is this grass between the tiles? It's a bit mushy, so I'm not too sure it's really grass..”

He sighed and laid down on the ground on his back, bringing his arms up his head “I can feel some crispy leaves, so I guess there is a tree near here. Or maybe they belong to faraway places and the wind brought them here to die.”

Silence, then sounds of shoes against the ground and the feeling of a shoulder against his own. He smiled. “And I can feel that you laid down near me.”

Armin giggled “I did.”

Eren turned towards him, eyes still closed and tentatively lifted his right hand bringing it closer to the friend's face. His finger came in contact with soft skin. “I can feel... your forehead? Yes, and your eyebrows, your nose” he whispered, slowly caressing Armin's face. “And your lips, and your teeth.”

“Eren! That's gross! Don't put your finger inside my mouth!!”

“It's not gross, it's interesting.” Eren laughed, sitting again and facing the sun, feeling the warmth on his skin.

“Interesting for what?”

“My studies about senses of course!”

“Eren...”

Eren smiled. “Tell me, Armin, what other sense would you like to concentrate on?”

“I don't know.”

“Close your eyes and tell me what you feel, then.”

“I have my eyes closed already.”

Eren snorted.

“Okay, well then.” Armin inhaled deeply and let his mind flow. “I can... smell the fresh air of the river, but also the unpleasant smell of dead fish from the market, and... is this... freshly cut grass, and... that you stink.”

Eren abruptly sat up. “WHAT THE HELL, ARMIN!”

Armin opened one eye and saw with pleasure that Eren had already opened his and was looking down at him with an indignant expression. He got up as well, sitting with his legs crossed.

“Eren you opened your eyes first! You lost!” he laughed, hiding his mouth with a hand.

Eren looked away, snorting. “Yeah sure. That can't be the only thing you smell though”

Armin grabbed his hands, forcing the friend to look at him in the eyes.

“I can smell your mum's incense. The one she bought when Sina merchants came here for the Harvest Day fair. I can picture it burning slowly, in that little spot in your kitchen above the sink , releasing its scent down the streets. It's a bit sweet and heavy, but I like it. It kinda reminds me of...”

  


 

**63.**

  
The first time Eren had kissed him - _really_ kissed him, deep and passionate and not at the corner of his mouth as he did once as a kid - it had been Armin's 22nd birthday. The Survey Corps - the name had remained the same only for habit, but it had long ago lost its function of 'recon', in favour of 'exploring' and 'discovery' - was at the dawn of one of the most important  missions of the last five years.

If the proof that Armin had been right all the time, the ocean existed and they had found it wasn't great enough per se, the thin faraway light line that prevented the sky to meet the water but instead meant land, land on the other side, was what made everyone's hope higher, everyone's heart beat a little faster in excitement.

They were now camping at the top of a cliff, waiting for the pulley to be ready to bring them and the boats down, finally ready to tame the waves.  That day a red vivid sunset stood in the sky, speckled with large dark black clouds, matching the dark water crashing just below against the rocks in a explosion of white foam.

Eren had kissed his slowly at first, merely brushing their lips together, and Armin had been at a loss for words, but he closed his eyes slowly, leaning forward again with his lips barely parted.

Armin didn't really know what to do, as Eren responded immediately to the kiss, taking his upper lip between his own. He could feel his own heart hammering so fast in his chest to make him deaf to the noisy, crashing waves against the cliff.

When Armin gently put his hands - slowly, delicate - on Eren's hips he could feel the brunet smiling against his mouth, taking his chin with both of his hands, brushing his thumbs on Armin's hot, scarlet cheeks, and holding him closer, melting in a kiss that was much more now, with hints of tongue and awkward brushing of teeth.

“Eren? Are you up here? Erwin wants you to... oh. Come on guys. _Come_ _on._ ”

Eren broke the kiss first, but still held up Armin's chin between his fingers and looked down at him deep in the eyes. The blond's cheeks were tinted in an amazing shade of red.

“Good night Armin. Have a good rest.” Eren said and smiled, placing a softer, sweeter kiss at the corner of his mouth, almost jokingly.

Eren hurried back to the base, trying to act smug, but the tips of his burning-red ears were very much visible.

“Ouch, Eren! What was that for?” Sasha laughed, rubbing where Eren had jabbed her in the stomach.

Armin watched him walking away slowly and felt a deep feeling of affection running in his veins. He glanced up at Sasha, who just returned the look with a soft smile and a silent-mouthed _'_ _Finally '._

  
  


 

**12.**

  
Armin was exhausted. He leaned against the wall of the stack, sliding down and sitting on the cold ground, closing his eyes. His arms and legs hurt so much he almost couldn’t feel them anymore.

He bit his lip and breathed slowly.

He was tired of feeling like this every day, tired of feeling so weak. Every other kid had to do the same amount of work as he did, but Armin was sure that no one felt like their muscles where on the verge of tearing apart like he did.

“Hey Armin, let's play a game.”

Armin looked up to see Eren standing near him, smiling and hiding something behind his back. He had been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't even heard his best friend approaching.

“I'm not really in the mood, Eren.” he said, looking at the ground and hugging his legs tightly.

“Come on, come on!” Eren said cheerfully, sitting beside Armin. “Close your eyes.”

“Ereeeen. I'm serious. We can't do that right now. Plus, you know I'm sick. I wouldn’t be able to recognize a smell even if I wanted to.”  As to confirm what he had just said, he started coughing and tears formed at the corner of his eyes.

Eren looked at his friend and just smiled. “For once you could try to concentrate on other things. Come on Armin, trust me! I have a surprise for you! Close your eyes and open your mouth.” he exclaimed, and by the forceful stare that he was giving him, Armin knew that he couldn't refuse.

The blond sighed and nodded.

With his eyes closed, he could feel Eren's fingers brushing tenderly against his lips, encouraging the blond to open his mouth properly and eat what he had to offer.

“Is this... spiced bread?! Where did you find it?” Armin open his eyes and looked at his friend in disbelief. He couldn't keep his excitement down: after weeks of eating dull slop of watery bread, finally he could eat something that had a taste.

“Surprise” Eren smiled. “Come on, come on, close your eyes again. Even if you lost I give you another chance.”

“You mean you have more?” Armin almost shouted, covering his mouth right after for being too loud.

They stayed like this for a while, Armin trying to figure out what Eren was feeding him with, and Eren enjoying the happiness on the other's face.

Working in the fields had never been easy, and there were too many people - too many kids - working there to give everyone a decent meal. Some days everything was finished before they could even eat something.

“Eren, this is the best cheese I've ever eaten.”

“Mikasa said that it comes from the northern region, and I don't think I’ve ever seen anyone selling this in Shiganshina.”

Armin took one last piece and closed his eyes, savouring the strong taste of the cheese melting on his tongue.

“Mikasa got all of this stuff? Is it...” his voice trailed off, and his face darkened. Is it legal? he wanted to ask.

“Today it was her turn to go in the nearest town and sell the harvest. Apparently people are learning how the situation is here and... the lady at the bakery said she was sorry for what us kids were put through and she... offered her some food. Or at least that's what she told me.”

“Where is she now?”

“Shower.”

Armin hummed in acknowledgement, resting his head back against the wall and looked up at the sky. The afternoon was slowly becoming evening and the grey dull sky would have probably brought a snowfall during the night.

“Hey Armin, I still have one last thing for you”

“R-really?”

Eren searched thoroughly in his bag and took out a tiny rounded object, throwing it in the air only to catch it a second later and offering it to Armin.  

“I know you like it.”

Armin opened his mouth in disbelief and gently took the orange from Eren's open palm. It was big and rounded and its colour was bright. Armin brought it close to his face, gently inhaling the sweet scent of the fruit.

He smiled at Eren and mouthed a thanks, as he indented the peel of the fruit with his nail, removing it piece by piece.

He split the orange in half and offered one to Eren, who raised his eyebrow and tilted his head as a thank you.

As soon as he took the first slice, he was overwhelmed by the taste of the citrus; the pulp was sugary and sweet and exactly how Armin loved it.

There weren't many orange trees in the area near Shiganshina, the soil was too barren and the winters too cold for growing them, therefore Armin had the chance to eat the fruit only in special, rare occasions. Knowing that Eren and Mikasa had managed to bring one to him made his heart flutter a little, and little tears started to form at the corner of his eyes.

As soon as they got up, Eren took Armin's chin gently between his fingers and brought it dangerously close to his face.

“You've got orange drool all over your face.” he said, before licking the tip of his own thumb and brushing it vigorously over Armin's chin.

“You wouldn't want the military to find us out, would you?”

Armin could only smile.

  
  


******4.**  


Winters in Shiganshina were the worst, Eren was sure of that. He could stand the biting cold deep in his bones, but when that was added to knee-deep snow, wet shoes and cold meals, it was too much even for him.

Sometimes, his father would try to light a fire in the backyard but usually the strong wind made it impossible to stay outside for too long. His mother also tried to keep the fireplace on as long as possible, but wood burned too easily and too fast, and in the middle of the night, when even the last spark of warmth was dead, sleeping was certainly impossible.

The only way to avoid frostbite was searching for human warmth.

The first time Eren and Armin had shared a blanket had been when Armin's mother had invited the Jeager family over for dinner, gratefully thanking Doctor Grisha for always taking care of her son.

As the evening went on, the two friends had found themselves settled under the blanket of Armin's bed, a pile of books keeping it up like a tent. The light of the candle on the nightstand had been dim and opaque through the cloth, but it certainly hadn't stopped Armin from reading out loud his grandfather's book.

It was amazing, really, how was that object that had strengthened their friendship more than anything. They had already read it several times by now, but just hearing about expanses of sand so huge that even the horizon was a blurred line, or places where the sun shined always for hours, even when it was supposed to be night, always made Eren shiver with excitement, always made Armin's eyes shine enthusiastically.  

Eventually the evening had transformed into night, and before Carla could come and call his son, the two boys had fallen asleep together, arms and legs tangled one another, fighting against the cold. The book laid neatly under Armin's pillow, wishing them goodnight and offering dreams of faraway places.  

During the years it became common for Eren to sleep at Armin's house. But things changed, and time passed. Slowly, the big wool quilt that Eren's mum had bought him became every year more creased and more flattened, and from one day to the other it was Armin's grandpa that welcomed the brunet at the door, instead of his mother.

The burning passion for discovery never faded, though. Even when Mikasa arrived in their lives, she joined their little nights of hiding under suffocating blankets for then falling asleep one atop of the other in Armin's little bed, limbs warmed by limbs, and heart warmed by knowledge.

  
  


 

**99.**

  
Sunny Summer days were Armin's favourite. The sun would shine vividly up in the sky, reflecting its rays on the water’s surface, so that it would be too shiny to keep staring, the chirping of the birds would be a soothing melody to sleep with in the morning, and the cold sea would be reinvigorating for sore feet after standing in the searing sand for too long. Yet, he was particularly fond of early mornings.

That one in particular, he woke up together with the sun, the soft pink beams reflecting on the room’s floor

He glanced at his right and noticed that the spot near his was already empty. He sighed and rolled on the other side of the bed, burying his face in his lover's pillow.

Everything smelled like Eren now and Armin just smiled. He loved feeling the traces that Eren had left, on the bed or on himself. He rolled around again, staring at the ceiling with a soft smile on his lips, closing his eyes and tracing with his finger the bruise that said brunet had left on his neck the prior night. He touched his own lips, a bit dry and cracked and thought of Eren's ones on them. Eren 's kisses were rough, like his hands, yet soft and sweet, like his touch.

Armin lifted his hands up in the air, like he was trying to catch something up, up, faraway and a giggle escaped his lips. He jumped up and he was now sitting on the bed and his arms were still stretched in the air, exactly up his head.

He opened his eyes slowly and his smile softened as he recognized the smell that he thought lost in time so long ago. The door of the bedroom was slightly opened, letting the light and those old memories slowly creep in the room, dim and a little bittersweet.

He got up and stood against the door frame for a while, watching Eren's naked back from behind, following with his eyes a little drop of sweat slowly outlining  his spine, and admiring how good his shoulders looked when he stretched himself to reach a higher shelf.

Armin bit his lip and joined Eren in the kitchen, the sweet smell of breakfast melting with the scent of the incense. He inhaled happily: he liked the comfortableness of his new life, and the warmth in his heart like he had never felt more at ease in his entire life.

Eren startled and slowly melted in a sweet smile, when Armin suddenly hugged him from behind, nuzzling against his neck and leaving a soft kiss on his shoulder.

“Morning.”

“Morning to you. How are you already awake? Ruined my plan of bringing you breakfast in bed, honestly.”

“Mhh really?” Armin smiled. “You are pampering me too much.”

“Oh well, I hoped you could have repaid me somehow...” Eren whispered, his tone low and deep, tilting his head slightly for leaving a soft kiss on the tip of Armin's nose.

“Eren...  we have to meet with the others later. I don't think it would be... _ah_... appropriate.”

They fell in a comfortable silence, and once Eren had finished slicing the bread, Armin took gently his hands, fitting perfectly their fingers together, and crossing his arms over Eren's stomach. Armin's long hair tickled Eren's shoulders.

“Remember to thank Jean for the incense he bought for your birthday.”

“Oh, I'm sure he didn't think of it on his own. I guess he received a... suggestion from unknown sources.”

Armin giggled and buried his face against Eren's neck, biting the flesh teasingly “I didn't say anything...”

Eren scoffed.

Armin's laugh became a soft smile, the little bite a trail of kisses down his shoulder. “He chose it on his own though. And... he didn't do it on purpose, but the scent is very similar to the one your mum always used to burn.”

“What does it smell like?”

  
  


 

**1\.    - cont. -**

  
“ _Home._ ”

  
  
  


 

**Author's Note:**

> can you believe i started this with the idea of writing angst but then nope. no angst thanks. also thanks to my beta! you're great. anyway i hope you liked this!!


End file.
